ST. PAUL, Minn. — In the realm of Jose Theodore, time, speed and distance have no relevance. He is on his own, in the moment, in his area of interest. There are no sounds, no distractions, no blurs, no vague impressions.

It's myspace.net, Theodore believes. It belongs to him and nobody else.

The Avalanche goalie has played brilliantly in this playoff series with Minnesota. But, on Thursday night, Theodore was a virtuoso performer of the highest order.

Theodore stopped 31 of the Wild's 32 shots in the first two periods — during a span in which Minnesota outplayed the Avs in every phase of the game.

Except one. The one that counted. The last line of defense. Theodore.

"I felt good, obviously, but I felt no different than any the other playoff games," Theodore said. "It's pretty much the same. I just try to make every save. I stay focused and keep it simple."

The rest of the Avalanche finally skated up to help Theodore in the final period.

"It was all Jose," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He was the only reason we had a chance going into the third period."

The Avs lead the series. It's 3-2. Does that sound familiar? Four of the series' five games have been decided 3-2. The last game of the regular season was 3-2. The other postseason series between the Wild and the Avs had four 3-2 finishes.

So it must have been appropriate that the Wild scored with less than three seconds left to make it 3-2. But, by then, it didn't matter.

The Wild couldn't solve Stone Cold Jose Theodore.

He has saved 154 shots in this series. He has permitted only 11 goals. Minnesota has not won in regulation, and has not scored more than three goals in any game.

The Wild scored a goal with 40 seconds remaining in the opening period Thursday night.

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What was remarkable about that? The Wild hadn't scored a goal in the opening period of the first four games.

Minnesota still hasn't scored a goal in the second period of any game.

Here's the most incredible statistic of the Avs-Wild series:

Minnesota has possessed the lead for only 4 minutes, 31 seconds of the 324 minutes, 23 seconds of the five games (including three overtimes).

Theodore The Maestro, for five games, has been as good as, if not better than, St. Patrick. Patrick Roy couldn't have improved on Theodore's first two periods Thursday night.

Midway through one Minnesota power play, Theodore took two shots to the heart. He should have been wearing a Kevlar vest. He didn't stand on his head. Theodore had no such time for theatrics. He was busy stopping charges to the right of him, to the left of him, from behind him, from directly in front of him, from atop him.

With 9:15 left in the second period, the missile was fired from the left. Theodore went down and managed to slow down the puck. It oozed out and slid tantalizingly just outside the pipe.

The Avs and the Wild, each with a first-period power play, entered the third period tied.

"Our guys had the extra jump" in the final 20 minutes, Theodore said. "That was our best period of the playoffs. The defense was great. They kept Minnesota away from the middle."

But the Avs wouldn't have been in that position if Theodore hadn't gotten them there. Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire reluctantly gave Theodore credit when he was asked the antidote for a scorched- ice goalie. "It's hard to find . . ."

Now we know how Theodore won the Vezina and Hart trophies in 2001-02. But we don't know how he disappeared for years. We do know this season has been a remarkable comeback.

But the Montreal Canadiens — the all-time all-time NHL club — must be wondering how they let both Roy and Theodore get away.

Theodore no longer is given up for dead.

He is in the Twilight Zone.

"We knew that Minnesota was going to come out strong. They're a great team. A lot of skill, a lot of character, and they showed it (Thursday night). They played a solid 60 minutes. But at the other end we didn't panic," the constant gardener said.

Seventeen shots on Theodore in the first period, 15 in the second, wave after wave of Wild. "Every one of these playoff games has been exciting," Theodore said.

The teams played hockey. It wasn't a dockworkers' brawl. The hitting was hard, but clean, and only six penalties, three each, were called.

The Avs got the break in the third, then another.

"That second goal on the power play was huge," Theodore said, "but that third goal was the biggest of the playoffs."

Paul Stastny scored his first goal of the series 6:25 into the third period for a 3-1 lead, insurmountable.